Re: Not
for the queasy!

: : :
: with regards to bleeding, my grand mother has always said that some one or something
had "bled like a stuffed pig". To me this does not make much sense as I would
think it might be a stuck pig that would bleed more than a stuffed pig. Any suggestions
or sites for where to find the answer would be much appreciated.
: : : : thx.

:
: : It's a stuck pig--stuck with a slaughtering knife, I believe. "Bleeding like
a stuck pig" is a traditional phrase.

: :
: : Unlike cattle or sheep, pigs,
when frightened, release a hormone that taints the flavour of the meat. To avoid
that, they were killed as suddenly as possible by sticking them through the heart
with a sharp knife. They were bled immediately by suspending them by the back
legs and the blood spurting from the wound was collected to make black puddings
(blood sausages?)

:
: That's interesting. I have some Egyptian friends
who - though they do not stick pigs, were explaining Halal meat to me. They were
saying that when and animal is frightened, its muscles tense up and the meat isn't
as tender. Halal butchery is supposed to be a gentler way to go since it drains
the blood and the animal basically falls asleep. I don't know if this is true,
but I do know that if you cut the spinal cord of the lobster (it runs down the
back and can be cut by snipping just where the head and joins the rest of the
body) before you put it in the pot of boiling water the meat is also supposed
to stay tender. Or so said James Beard.

: I'm not really a gruesome person,
but it seemed relevant.

I'm sure you're a really delightful person!! But, umm
. . , lobsters are invertebrates and are therefore disqualified from all Spinal
Cord events on the grounds that they have no backbone, multitudinous appendages
that give them an unfair advantage over biped competitors, and are unbeatable
on a large plate when accompanied by the tipple of your choice!